Friday, September 23, 2016

Catholics and Protestant Churches in Zambia against new Ministry of Religion

The
Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) together with leaders of
the umbrella body of Protestant Churches, the Council of Churches in
Zambia (CCZ) have vehemently opposed the establishment of a new
government ministry to be known as the Ministry of National Guidance and
Religious Affairs.

Opposing the government's move, the two Church bodies said they found
the creation of a new ministry of religious affairs unnecessary and
imprudent.

“In view of the various financial and economic challenges our country
is currently facing, we neither see the creation of the said ministry
as a top priority nor a prudent decision. After all, we believe that
Zambians want their country to be a democracy rather than a theocracy,”
the statement reads in part. On these grounds, CCZ and ZCCB stand
opposed to the creation of the new ministry

Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, last week appointed Reverand
Godfridah Sumaili, a Pentecostal pastor of Lusaka’s Bread of Life Church
as the new head of the ministry of religious affairs. Sumaili was
subsequently nominated Member of Parliament, by Lungu.

The Zambian
parliament still has to ratify the appointment and the creation of the
new ministry. Observers in Lusaka seemed to regard the ratification as a
formality.

Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) Executive Director, Reverend
Pukuta Mwanza, on behalf of Pentecostal Churches, last month, praised
President Lungu’s initiative saying it would “promote Christian values
and give more meaning to the declaration of Zambia as a Christian
nation.”

On 4 September, while visiting State Lodge’s Divine Mercy Catholic
Parish, in Lusaka, President Lungu told parishioners that the Church in
Zambia should not be threatened by the creation of the ministry of
religious affairs. He said the ministry would harmonise State-Church
Relations.

Former President Frederick Chiluba in 1997 established the Religious
Affairs desk with Rev. Peter Chintala as Deputy Minister at Statehouse.

The religious desk suffered because of unclear terms of reference and
its inability to garner support and consensus from Churches.